Palladium Books® Weekly Update – October 25, 2012

By Kevin Siembieda

I’m working my keister off to get darn books finished and in your hands. We are all motivated and excited about what’s coming your way. Heck, if nothing else, we want to get rid of the logjam just so we can bring you all the new books we have in mind that we haven’t even told you about yet.

UPDATE: The Rifter® #60 – available now

The Rifter® #60 shipped to subscribers last Friday and to distributors on Monday. It’s the latest of several great issues and you are missing out if you don’t subscribe to this excellent player and Game Master’s sourcebook series. PR copies went out this morning.

UPDATE: Robotech® Genesis Pits™ Sourcebook

I’m done with my portion of the writing and editing. Wayne is finishing up his part of the final edits before it is sent to Harmony Gold for approval, which will be tomorrow. Most of the book is already in Harmony Gold’s hands and being reviewed for approval. We expect to start getting approvals any day now. Robotech® Genesis Pits™ Sourcebook should see release in November.

UPDATE: Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook

On Wednesday, I was finally able to dive back into the writing for this book and I’ve been a writing fiend ever since. Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook is going to be epic. There are so many cool ideas in it that . . . well, you’ll see soon enough. Should be a November release.

UPDATE: Rifts® Northern Gun™ One and Two

I actually spent a few hours editing and writing for Northern Gun One last the weekend. I was reviewing the material for art assignment, and the next thing I knew I was writing and editing for four hours. Matthew Clements really out-did himself on the writing did for these two titles. Probably his best work to date.

UPDATE: Robotech® Tactical Role-Playing Game

I’ve been working intermittently with my attorney to get a finished agreement done. We are all so excited about this project. I can hardly wait till we can reveal our plans for it. Summer 2013.

UPDATE: More Sneak Previews to be made available on DriveThruRPG.com

As soon as it is possible, we’ll be posting the FREE Sneak Preview of Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook. The FREE Rifter® #60 Sneak Preview has been available for a couple of weeks along with other titles like Rifts® Black Market and Lemuria, among others.

DriveThruRPG.com is also your place to get PDFs of older product and sneak previews of upcoming books. Many back issues of The Rifter® are available on DriveThruRPG.com (issues #1-52), as are more than 90 out of print titles such as Rifts®, BTS™ and Palladium Fantasy® first edition rule books and sourcebooks. A sneak preview of Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook should also be coming soon. We have not forgotten about the PDF only editions of The Rifter® #0.1 and The Rifter® #0.2 – both are big, juicy digital editions of new, fan created material for the Palladium Megaverse® of games.

DriveThruRPG.com also offers the Rifts® and Palladium Fantasy® Game Master Kits (both written by Carl Gleba and complete with maps, combat matrix, character sheets, spell list, and 20 pre-rolled characters created by Julius Rosenstein; $5 each). Of course, there are FREE Sneak Previews of Rifts® Black Market, Endless Dead™, Rifts® Lemuria, Rifts® Vampire Kingdoms™, and Thundercloud Galaxy™, as well as 90+ out of print titles, including back issues of The Rifter®, and first edition rule books for Rifts®, Palladium Fantasy RPG®, Heroes Unlimited™, The Mechanoid Invasion® Trilogy, and lots of other good things. ALL available as PDF downloads at reasonable prices. And there is MORE to come.

UPDATE: Online Sales

Online sales have been a little slower and a bit up and down this week, but still holding strong with dozens of people placing orders for the Palladium Christmas Surprise Packages as well as regular orders. Keep ‘em coming.

UPDATE: Palladium Christmas Surprise Packages

We continue to process a lot of orders for the 2012 Christmas Surprise Packages that are coming in at a nice, steady pace. One gent placed an order for SIX of them yesterday, and another gamer ordered four. Excellent! Take advantage of this limited time opportunity. I’m also pleased to report that there have been plenty of regular orders, too.

Last week, Apollo Okamura dropped by to sign books for the Surprise Packages. This week, Ben Rodriguez came by to sign a few hundred books. Still waiting for Mark Dudley to drop by.

What is the Christmas Surprise Package? A way for you to get a pile of Palladium product, original artwork, prints, out of print copies of The Rifter®, miniatures, autographs and surprises at low prices.

It involves you sending Santa Kevin a “Wish List” of 10-12 different in-stock products and a flat payment (+ shipping and handling). I then hand-pick items from that Wish List and I may include product you didn’t ask for (hence the nickname, “X-Mas Grab Bag”), but all things I think you’ll enjoy, and we ship it all off to you. Gamers have been loving this special offer for 14 or 15 years now. Order one or several for yourself and for your gaming buddies. For the holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, or just to get cool stuff and signatures. Get all the information from the description in the online store.

Alex will be adding even more items to my online store, including some hard to find, Ninja Turtle RPG titles signed by Erick Wujcik, as well as a number of other game titles and books from the massive collection of Erick Wujcik. We’re trying to help out the Wujcik Estate by selling a selection of books for them. We’ve also put up a bunch of military books owned by Erick (with more to come if these sell), and an array of comic book and SCA fanzines. I’ll be digging up some Palladium collectibles over the next few weeks too.

Take a look, there may be some items that are perfect as holiday gifts. Note: There are no more than five Rifts® Lemuria Emerald Editions earmarked for the store and other items such as the Rifts® Machinations of Doom Gold Hardcover,Rifts® RPG Silver hardcovers, BTS Gold,Rifts® Ultimate Gold, Erick Wujcik’s Amberzine #11, etc. are also in short supply. In most cases, I have only a dozen or fewer to offer. That’s why we continue to dole them out one at a time. Once they are sold out, of course, they are GONE! Other collectibles include first printings of books, signed books, “proofreader” copies of books (a couple more coming your way soon), original artwork, and other collectible odds and ends.

There are also a large number of collectible toys and action figures in my online store. All are from my personal collection. More toys and collectibles are added on a weekly basis.

Palladium will be at Youmacon. What about you? – November 1-4 – Detroit, Michigan – www.youmacon.com

Palladium Books will be exhibiting in the dealers’ room and we’ll have members of the Palladium staff and other maniacs at the booth, including:

Kevin Siembieda

Wayne Smith

Alex Marciniszyn

Julius Rosenstein

Ben Rodriguez

Chuck Walton and maybe a few other Palladium madmen.

It all happens at Cobo Hall and hotels in downtown Detroit, near the waterfront. Join the fun. Youmacon is a rapidly exploding anime convention that could have 15,000+ people this year. It includes a wide range of amazing costumes, guests, events, cosplay, gaming and multi-media fun. www.youmacon.com

The Palladium Family continues to grow!

Writer and pal, Brandon Aten (author or co-author of Rifts® Madhaven, Triax 2, etc.) and his lovely wife Sarah, are the proud parents of a beautiful baby boy, Eli. Our heartfelt congratulations and warmest wishes to Brandon and Sarah.

Here’s the email I received from Brandon: “Hey all, just wanted to let everyone know that Eli is here. 9 pounds, 4 ounces, 22 inches. Kid is built like a rock. Put on my palladium shirt today and he really likes it. Eli joins the new generation of gamers ... I guess that would make Kevin a gamer grandpa.” I guess so. I sure don’t mind. :)

Go Tigers!

The Detroit Tigers baseball team is in the World Series. So, you know, I had to exhibit my fan boy support. They haven’t won since 1984, so we are all rooting for our team.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is next week Wednesday, the day before the next Weekly Update, so I have to wish you a Happy Halloween now. Halloween is the most favorite holiday of Kathy Simmons and second only to Christmas for me. We go all out with a massive display and look forward to it all year.

This year we expanded our Halloween display and there are more than 100 life-sized ghouls. We set them up in several spooky, scary, fun and funny scenes that include a police office shooting at a horde of zombies, a gruesome mad doctor’s laboratory, a chop shop with two caged werewolves, the Frankenstein monster, other monsters, a spooky graveyard (with zombies rising, of course), witches creating dangerous brew, the Wizard of Oz (complete with winged monkeys), a crew of skeleton pirates, Charlie Brown and friends waiting for the Great Pumpkin, and more. For us, it is a month long celebration, as we start putting up the massive display by the end of September and people come by on a daily basis.

We hope your Halloween is as wonderful and full of laughter and joy as ours. Happy hauntings and keep those imaginations burning bright.

– Kevin Siembieda, Publisher, Writer and Ghoulmaster

Surprise Package comments from fans like you

Every year there is a section where the customer can offer comments and suggestions with his or her Surprise Package order. Every year, in acknowledgment of our fans, and because they are fun to read, we offer a sampling in the Weekly Updates. Our heartfelt thanks to all of you who have made 2012 a very good year for Palladium. Keep those imaginations burning bright, have a joyous holiday season and game on.

D.L. in Salt Lake City, Utah, writes: Just keep doing what you’re doing. Each day Palladium’s future gets a little brighter. In the meantime, thank you for decades of fun and excitement.

D.V. in Wentzville, Missouri, writes (in part): Dear Kevin and Staff, I have so much to be thankful for . . . got married . . . child on the way . . . sold our first house and looking for a new home . . . To be able to share all of the wonderful, imaginative and empowering books that have come out of your company [with my child someday] is nothing short of a blessing. Yes, I did call your books empowering. I am not sure that is something that you all may have heard before when talking about your product. I’ve never heard anyone say it about any RPG products, but I feel it is the truth. Your books are a testament to what hard work and dedication, some risk taking, and following your heart can create. Your books are a physical representation of why I have never let go of my imagination, in order to fit into the machine society. Your products are a symbol of struggle and hardship and SUCCESS! Your products have empowered me to believe in myself, perhaps even against insurmountable odds. More of us need to embrace our imaginations.

J.W. in Abilene, Texas, writes: Hi, I’m ordering the Surprise Package for my husband who is currently serving in Afghanistan with the Air Force. He LOVES RPGs. He already has so many of the Rifts® books, so I’m hoping he will get maybe a new RPG. Just hoping to put a big smile on his face with the surprise package. Thank you for this great Christmas gift idea!

C.B. in Walkerton, Indiana, writes: Glad you guys keep on kicking! Hope you continue to reach out to your audience and try to expand. It’s true that existing fans want you to stay the same, but I think you should balance that with trying new things. Look at how the Lemuria crowdsource [funding] worked out. Merry Christmas and best wishes.

S.H. in South Porcupine, Canada, writes: I ordered one [Surprise Package] for myself and one for my eldest son earlier. Now, my younger son has discovered Rifts® Ultimate Edition and is captivated by the world and the creatures in it.

K.L. in Victoria, Australia, writes: I have been using my friend’s Fantasy collection. It is time for [me to start] my own.

N.H. in Kent, Washington, writes: I don’t get to play much these days, but still love to read the books. Keep up the great work.

T.H. in Portage, Indiana, writes: This [Surprise Package] order is for my 15 year old son for Christmas.

J.R. in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, writes: I want to thank the whole crew fo this amazing offer. I plan on picking up a couple more Grab Bags in the coming weeks simply because it is an amazing value (and my friends love me for giving them a few new books for the holidays). Also, I rarely get a chance to get signatures from Palladium folks. Have a happy Halloween.

From Kevin Siembieda & staff to all of you. Thank you for the kind words and support. Game on and Happy Halloween! - Kevin Siembieda

NEW! The Rifter® #60 – Available NOW!

The Rifter® Number 60 is an extravaganza of source material that deals with the bizarre, gruesome and dangerous. There is page after page of useful new gadgets, weapons, gear, monsters, aliens, and adventure ideas, plus an excellent article on introducing youngsters to the world of role-playing games.

Every issue of The Rifter® offers new monsters, villains, characters, O.C.C.s, powers, magic, weapons, adventure and ideas for your use in games and campaigns. There is usually source material for at least 2-3 Palladium game lines, often more.

The Rifter® #60 includes:

Rifts® Black Market™ – Trust and Intimidate: A Way of Life for operatives, thugs and dealers in the Black Market. By Liam Gray.

Rifts®: Sorcerer’s Forge™ – A hidden community of Techno-Wizards with more than one secret to conceal. Many new and unique TW weapons, power armor and gear, as well as details about the place and some of the interesting inhabitants. By Timothy Dorman.

Splicers® – House Pandorum is one of the Splicer clans making moves. Get details about the house itself and a host of new Splicers weapons, armor, mutants and monsters. By Kris Tipping.

Heroes Unlimited™ – Superhero adventure that starts in space and brings a cadre of erstwhile alien heroes and their spaceship to Earth. By Thomas Morrison.

Modern Horror, Short Story – A tale of intrigue and mystery by J.V. Adams.

Gaming with Children – Step by step suggestions on how to introduce role-playing games to children by a Game Master with personal experience. Written by Hendrik Härterich.

The Rifter® #50, Anniversary Special – Available NOW!

– back in print due to popular demand

You might think of The Rifter® #50 as a special “all-star” anniversary issue with official source material for Rifts®, Heroes Unlimited™, Nightbane® and many other Palladium RPG settings.

The Rifter® #50 includes:

Chaos Earth™ – Official source material that includes psionics and three new psychic O.C.C.s: Charismatic O.C.C., Reactionary O.C.C. and Teke Freak O.C.C. Written by Jason Richards. Art by Allen and Brian Manning.

Heroes Unlimited™ – Official source material about fame, glory and infamy for heroes and the legacy they create. Written by Mark Oberle. Art by Mark Dudley.

Nightbane® – Official source material on the new O.C.C. known as the Mortificant or Death Caller. Written by Irvin Jackson. Art by Kent Burles.

Splicers® – Official source material that includes three new O.C.C.s: The Geneticist O.C.C., Tormentor O.C.C., and the Gardener O.C.C., and more. Written by Brandon Aten and Matthew Orr. Art by Chuck Walton.

Rifts® Vampires Sourcebook™ – Coming Next!

I’m working on this bad boy right now! Unknown to most humans, deep within Mexico the vampires have established entire kingdoms. There they live like tyrants and gods, dominating an underclass of cattle people used as slaves and food stock. Learn more about the vampires, their rivals, allies and the humans who willingly serve their supernatural masters for a chance to join the undead. A must-have guide for those who wish to travel deeper into the Vampire Kingdoms or play as vampires and their human minions. In final production right now with art and text coming in and final editing and writing restarting next week.

More human kingdoms within Mexico like the Tampico Military Protectorate and Durango, the Silver City.

Firefighting robots, hover firetrucks and more anti-vampire gear.

Magic based Vampire Hunters and human strongholds.

Techno-Wizard anti-vampire weapons and magical devices.

Profiles for Doc Reid and Reid’s Rangers, the world’s most famous Vampire Hunters.

Fort Reid, an entire city devoted to hunting the undead.

The Bloodwatch, a secret vampire intelligence agency that tracks down and exterminates Vampire Hunters.

The Yucatan Peninsula, a mysterious dimensional pocket overrun by strange demons known as Xibalbans.

The return of the Mayan god Camazotz, Lord of Bats and Darkness.

The werebeasts of Mexico and Central America; those who assist the vampires and those who fight against them.

Robotech® Genesis Pits™ Sourcebook

This is an epic sourcebook that takes an in-depth look at the Invid Genesis Pits, their purpose, function and the mutants and monsters they unleash. It is packed with good stuff that will put a grin on the faces of Robotech fans.

Secrets of the Invid.

Notable Genesis Pits of Earth.

Genesis Pit mutations and monsters.

Different types of Genesis Pits from across the galaxy.

Inorganics and other war machines of the Invid Regent.

Ways to destroy a Genesis Pit.

Genesis Pit Monster creation tables and rules.

Bioroid and Zentraedi mutants, Simulagents and more.

Written by Irvin Jackson. 8½ x 11 size book format. Available only in the USA and Canada.

Rifts® Black Market Hardcover

– Gold Contraband Edition – Available now!

Everything you want to know about the Black Market of Rifts® North America presented inside a pair of gorgeous black leatherette covers. Gold foil embossing on front cover and spine. Historically, gold collector editions only increase in value on the collector’s market, and often quickly. This is the lowest number of a Collector’s Gold Edition that Palladium has ever printed.

Rifts® Black Market™ – Softcover Edition – Available now

See what everyone is talking about and order yours today. Rifts® Black Market™ is an epic, 192 page sourcebook that contains a wealth of information about the inner workings of the Black Market, the Five Factions, new Bandito Arms/Black Market weapons and gear, how to make any O.C.C. a Black Marketeer, special abilities of the Black Marketeer, criminal enterprises, Black Market loans, merc and crime jobs, and much more. This book has it all. AND best of all, a lot of it can be easily adapted to just about any world setting, not just Rifts Earth.

Rules to make any O.C.C. (or R.C.C.) a Black Marketeer.

Special abilities and benefits of the Black Marketeer.

Specialized O.C.C.s of the Black Market.

Criminal enterprises, jobs, and inner workings of the Black Market.

The Five Black Market Factions that wield the greatest power in North America: Bandito Arms, The Chicago Network, The Immaterial Hand, El Oculta, and Le Marche Noir.

Rifts® World Book 33: Northern Gun™ One

Northern Gun™ is the largest independent manufacturer of high-tech weapons, robots and vehicles in North America. Outside of the Coalition States, one could argue, no other kingdom is as powerful or influential, at least when it comes to technology and weapons. The manufacture and sale of Northern Gun weapons and vehicles has given virtually every kingdom, town, colony of settlers and adventurer group a chance to survive and prosper. Located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, NG has been the premier outfitter of mercenaries, adventurers and upstart kingdoms for generations. Now, for the first time ever, learn Northern Gun’s history, goals and plans for the future. Of course, that means new weapons, robots, power armor, vehicles and gear.

In-depth look at Northern Gun: its business operations and its community.

Rifts® World Book 35: Megaverse® in Flames™

The Minion War spills across Rifts Earth, where demons and infernals hope to recruit allies and use the Rifts as gateways of destruction. Their influence shakes things up across the planet, especially at locations where demons and Deevils already have a strong presence. Demons, Deevils and supernatural beings run rampant and wreak havoc across the world.

Demon plagues and mystic blights.

Soulmancy and Blood Magic revealed.

Magical and demonic weapons and war machines.

Demonic armies, strongholds and places of evil.

Hell Pits and Rune Forges.

Many Demon Lords, their minions and plans.

Calgary, the Kingdom of Monsters; in detail.

Ciudad de Diablo, Harpies’ Island and other notable Hell holes on Earth.

Lord Doom, Pain and other demonic leaders.

Horune treachery, Dimension Stormers and other villains.

Notable demonic generals, mercenaries, people and places.

Battleground: Earth – as demons and infernals amass their legions.

Global chaos and the places most dramatically affected by the Demon Plagues.

PDF downloads from DriveThruRPG.com

This is a great resource for getting out of print Palladium titles and other select books. We’ve made 90 titles available as PDF digital downloads from DriveThruRPG.com. This is a great way to try Palladium products and get access to out of print RPG source material. Some notable titles include.

‘Tis the season for zombies! Dead Reign™ Zombie RPG.

Everyone I’ve ever talked to who has tried this game loves it, especially if they had a thing for post-apocalyptic games and zombies to begin with. Fans of zombies, horror and apocalyptic settings really should give this RPG a try. – Kevin Siembieda

Dead Reign™ RPG – ideal introductory role-playing game

Think you know zombies? Think again.

Can you survive in a world where the dead have risen and feed upon the living? Battle zombies, mad men and death cultists in a post-apocalyptic where world the last of humanity struggles to survive.

Dead Reign™ RPG is the aftermath of the zombie apocalypse. Civilization is gone, the dead reign, and the living fight to survive against impossible odds. Tales of zombies, human survival and horror as a fast-paced, easy to learn game and sourcebooks.

Easy to learn, easy to play, and fast paced.

Clean, simple rules and quick character generation, and a depth of information and setting.

BACK IN PRINT: Rifts® World Book 18: Mystic Russia™

– Available now

Russian mythology and magic come to life in this fan favorite Rifts® World Book. The book includes all kinds of demons, monsters, new magic character classes (O.C.C.s), and nine different types of gypsies – some of whom are adventurers, others mystics and mages, some psychics and one is even a beguiling shape-shifter. Plus more background about Russia and the Sovietski.

36 Fire Magic spells.

29 Nature Magic spells.

18 Russian Demons, their powers and hierarchy.

10 Russian Woodland spirits, including the Man-Wolf and Werebests.

The Night Witch, Hidden Witch and Born Mystic O.C.C.s.

Necromancy and Necromancers expanded and their place in Russia.

The Russian Ley Line Walker character class (O.C.C.).

The Russian Shifter/Summoner O.C.C. (and all those demons to call upon).

BACK IN PRINT: Rifts® Coalition Wars® One: Sedition™

– Available now

Magic vs Technology. The infamous Coalition/Siege on Tolkeen story arc starts with this 160 page sourcebook. Not only does it lay the groundwork for the Coalition’s all-out siege on the kingdom of magic, but it includes a vast number of Techno-Wizard weapons and vehicles, powerful magic artifacts, demons, monsters, magic and a historic Crisis Time-Line from 12 P.A. to 106 P.A.

BACK IN PRINT: Rifts® Coalition Wars® Two: Coalition Overkill™

– Available now

The Siege on Tolkeen goes into full swing as the Coalition Army makes the first devastating attacks on Tolkeen. Coalition Generals, Special Forces squads, and strategies are presented with a wealth of adventure ideas.

Rifts® Coalition Wars® Four: Cyber-Knights™

– Available now

We didn’t want you to forget about this excellent sourcebook in the series. The Coalition’s siege on Tolkeen has had a devastating impact on people across North America. None have been more affected than the Cyber-Knights. This sourcebook reveals not only the history and secrets of the Cyber-Knights, but the schism the war has created among the fabled warriors.

Rifts® World Book 23: Xiticix Invasion™

– Back in print – Available now

Earth is home to thousands of alien species from beyond the Rifts. One of the strangest and most dangerous is the Xiticix. A danger nobody seemed to realize until the sprawling Hivelands began to encroach on the territories of other people. Armed with new breeds of aggressive warriors, new weapons and legions of insectoids willing to fight to the death, people are beginning to wonder if they are the next threat to humanity.

Rifts® World Book 31: Triax™ Two

– Back in print – Available now

The war between the people of the New German Republic and the Gargoyle Empire rages on, but only the heroes of the NGR seem to be getting the upper hand. See where things stand in the year 109 P.A. and get a closer look at the NGR Army, government, society and people. This World Book also presents the latest weapons, combat vehicles, power armor and robots of the NGR as well as commercial vehicles, robot helpers, and more.

27 new Triax weapons plus new body armor and additional gear.

10 new Triax giant robots including the Talon and Devastator II.

10 cars and commercial vehicles plus more than 50 special features.

9 new robot drones including robot assistants, pets and Spy ‘Bots.

6 new Triax power armor suits, including the Predator II, Ulti-Max II, War Eagle, Fat Boy, and a flying Glitter Boy.

Rifts® Sourcebook Two: The Mechanoids®

– Back in Print – Available now

Archie 3 and Hagan Lonovich are two of the most beloved villains (anti-heroes?) in the Rifts Earth setting. This sourcebook highlights their strange relationship, plots and blunders. One of which is inadvertently unleashing The Mechanoids® into the world!

The Mechanoids have one driving goal: To destroy all humanoid life! This book has it all. Source material, the Mechanoids, new equipment, monsters, adventure and cryptic prophecies.

The prophecies of the Seven Dangers.

20+ Mechanoids and their robot legion.

Optional Mechanoids® Player Characters and character sheets.

Archie Three and Hagan: Heroes or villains?

The weapons and robot minions of Hagan Lonovich.

New creations from Archie Three and Hagan, plus more history and insight about the unlikely duo.